Do
you have a classic car or truck needing
new wiring? American Autowire Factory
Fit reproduction wiring harnesses
are made exactly to OEM factory standards,
using OEM blueprints and OEM parts.
Wiring harnesses and accessories are
installed as a direct replacement
to the original factory wiring - no
guesswork.

The American Autowire
Classic Update Series is a complete
wiring system in a box with everything
you need to modernize your classic
vehicle including: Headlight, Dimmer,
and Ignition switches; Boots, Tubes,
and Grommets; Fuses, Relays, and Flashers;
Original Connectors, Terminals, and
Disconnects for specific makes/models/years.

These kits are one
of the most complete kits on the market
to “Make Wiring THAT Easy."
They are designed for specific year,
make, and model configurations including
these examples:

•1967-1973
Chevrolet Camaro

•1947-1972
Chevrolet Truck

•1964-1972
Chevrolet Chevelle

•1964-1970
Ford Mustang

•1959-1964
Chevrolet Impala

•1953-1966
Ford Truck

•1962-1972
Chevrolet II/Nova

•1966-77
Ford Broncos

Find the wiring kit
you need for your classic listed in
the "Electrical" category
under "Complete Wiring Kit"
in the RockAuto
catalog.

Forum of the Month

GM Longroof
is a community of auto enthusiasts
focusing on the last generation of
General Motors full sized station
wagons. While all wagon owners are
welcome, our focus is on the 1991
through 1996 B-Body wagons from Chevrolet,
Oldsmobile, and Buick.

Join us to
learn more than you thought possible
about GM's last rear drive, body-on-frame
wagons. Registration is easy and free!

If you are the
administrator or member of a forum
and you would like to see your website
featured in an upcoming newsletter
and receive a discount code to share
with your members, contact cynthia@rockauto.com.

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

10
or so years ago I bought a 1986 Dodge
Ram 50 pickup. It was mechanically
fine, but had spent its early years
in the salty air of the Maine coast,
so the body was pretty rough. But,
I needed a beater and the price was
right. After about a year, I started
to notice a clicking noise at around
40 MPH. I thought it was a front end
problem (which was more than I wanted
to tackle in my driveway), so I took
it back to the mechanic I bought it
from. He disassembled the front wheels,
replaced shims, bearings, and the
brakes. But much to our dismay the
clicking was still occurring at around
40 MPH!

After a thorough
examination of the front end, and
much colorful language, we discovered
that behind the grill, taped over
a crack, was a piece of duct tape
that had about three inches loose.
We removed it and the clicking disappeared!
At around 40 MPH the wind was slapping
it against the plastic grill hard
enough to make the clicking noise.

The truck ran great
for a few more years until salty ocean
air finally sent it to the junkyard.
I have used the same mechanic now
for 15 years and we have become good
friends. We often tell this story
to other people for the laugh. I guess
the moral of the story is to look
for the simple things first and operate
on the KISS (Keep it simple, Stupid!)
principle.

James in Maine

Tell us about
your most infamous auto repair blunder
or unconventional fix. Use your woe
to help others avoid similar mistakes
or share off-the-wall solutions that
worked (at least for a while!). Please
email your story to flamur@rockauto.com.
Include your mailing address and if
you would like a RockAuto T-Shirt
(please let us know your shirt size)
or Hat if we publish your story. See
the T-Shirts and Hats under Tools & Universal Parts
in the catalog.
The story will be credited using only
your first name and your vague geographic
location (state, province, country,
continent, etc.) so you can remain
semi-anonymous!

Automotive Trivia

The
"40" in the name of Ford's
most famous race car, the GT40, represents:

A. the 40 inch height
of the GT40.
B. the 40 turns of the Circuit de
la Sartha racetrack where the Le Mans
endurance race is held.
C. the 40 weeks that Henry Ford II
gave his design team to build a car
capable of ending Ferrari's Le Mans
race winning streak

Last
Sunday my daughter lowered the right
rear power window in my wife’s
’93 Ford Tempo. Unfortunately,
when she later pushed the button to
raise the window nothing happened.
More luxurious options on a car sometimes
mean more things to possibly break!
Was our power window motor dead?

My teenage son proclaimed
his sister had broken the Tempo’s
power window and that was followed
by my wife’s proclamation that
my son would help me fix it. We quickly
ruled out a higher level problem like
a weak battery, blown fuse, or bad
power window relay because the power
windows in the other three doors all
worked fine. The power door lock in
the problem door functioned which
reduced the odds that the door was
not properly electrically grounded.

We pulled off the
door panel. By hooking a 12V test
light to the back of the power window
motor’s electrical connector
we confirmed the door’s power
window switch and wiring was working.
Pushing the switch up sent power to
the plug’s red wire and pushing
the switch down sent power to the
yellow wire. To more thoroughly rule
out a bad ground connection, we ran
an additional, temporary ground wire
to the metal body of the power window
motor. In case the window regulator
mechanism was slightly jammed, we
gently pulled up on the window glass
while toggling the window’s
switch.

Still no signs of
life from the power window motor.
The next step was to look at the power
window motor’s image under Body-Interior
in the RockAuto
catalog to confirm that it had
three mounting bolts, two of which
were hidden behind the sheet metal
of the inner door. Small dimples in
the sheet metal marked where to drill
with a large drill bit to create access
to the motor’s mounting bolts.
We removed two bolts and loosened
the third enough to disengage the
motor’s small gear from the
window regulator’s large gear.

We gave the power
window motor switch one more try before
disconnecting the motor’s electrical
connector. Surprisingly the motor
sprang to life! Its gear eagerly spun
in both directions. We lubricated
the motor and regulator gears and
lubricated all the regulator pivots
and slides that we could reach. We
reassembled everything and ran the
power window up and down at least
a dozen times. It worked flawlessly.

So what happened?
My best guess is that after twenty
years the window regulator needed
lubrication and/or a jam just happens
every couple of decades. A power window
motor typically has a “stall”
torque of just 8 or 9 Nm. NASA.com
reports that on average the human
hand, arm, and wrist can generate
about twice that torque (17 Nm torque
pronation or turning the hand so the
palm faces downward).

A less optimistic
possibility is that the Tempo’s
window regulator is wearing out and
will likely jam the motor again. I
don’t think that is the case
because the right rear window is used
much less than the two front windows
and their regulators are still working
fine. Disuse and lack of lubrication
are more likely culprits than too
much use. Hopefully, my son and I
are finished with this repair and
just had a good father/son bonding
experience.

But the bushings
and other connections in window regulators
do wear out, especially on certain
cars and it can be hard to tell if
the motor and/or the regulator is
causing the intermittent problems.
RockAuto
manufacturers like ACDelco, Cardone,
Dorman, Sherman, TYC, and Valeo now
make complete assemblies for some
cars that include both the window
regulator and the power window motor.
The complete assembly often is a better
design using better materials compared
to the original regulator and motor.

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

Robert's
1969 Firebird

I've
have owned my 1969 Firebird since
1979. It was the first car I ever
bought. I paid $1350.00 for it. I
met my wife the same year. Still have
her too.

The Firebird has
been a total loss twice, according
to my insurance company, due to one
engine fire and one crash. It's been
painted five times and has had four
different motors since I've owned
her. We used it in our wedding and
brought our newborn daughter home
from the hospital in it. Two years
ago the Firebird delivered my daughter
to her wedding as well. The past few
years I've been a member of the Bay
Area Firebirds Car Club and enjoy
weekend cruises and events with my
Firebird buddies.

From the first day
I owned the Firebird I had wanted
to make it into a Pro Touring type
car, but because I was starting out
with no money and a family on the
way it was a slow process. Now after
30 some years I have run the car on
the road course at Laguna Seca and
Infineon in Sonoma, and it's as much
fun as I knew it would be. The car
is always a hit when I take it out
for a track day. I hear a lot of comments
like, "I can't believe you're
going to take that car out there and
thrash it like that."

Every time I go out
I find some new area that needs attention.
And of course that means new parts.
RockAuto is the first place I check
these days. Not just for the Firebird,
but for all my cars. I tell all my
friends to check there first too.
Haven't been disappointed yet.

Robert in California

Share Your
Hard Work

Do
you purchase parts from RockAuto?
If so, RockAuto would like to
feature you & your car or
truck in our monthly newsletter.
New, old, import, domestic,
daily driver, trailer queen,
classic, antique, we want to
see them all! Please e-mail
flamur@rockauto.com
with your vehicle's history,
interesting details, your favorite
images, and what parts from
RockAuto you have used.

Let
RockAuto Help

Are
you organizing a car show or
other auto related event? From
goody bag stuffers to gift certificates...we
can help. We can even publicize
your event in our newsletter.

The
"40" in the name of
Ford's most famous race car,
the GT40, represents:

Answer:
A. the 40 inch height
of the GT40.
B. the 40 turns of the Circuit
de la Sartha racetrack where
the Le Mans endurance race is
held.
C. the 40 weeks that Henry Ford
II gave his design team to build
a car capable of ending Ferrari's
Le Mans race winning streak.